Fodor's may use your email address to send you relevant information on site updates, account changes, and offers. For more information about your privacy and protection, please review our full Privacy Policy.

Rome Apartment Rental Using SleepInItaly, Airbnb or RentalInRome?

Has anyone used the above onsite rental agencies to rent an apartment in Rome?

I've found a few apartments on each of these sites that I like, but the traveler reviews are not recent, i.e., they're mostly all older than 2-3 months.

If you can share your personal experience using one of the rental agencies in the topic title, or if you've successfully used a different onsite agency (which one?), I'd really appreciate hearing from you.

Was the apartment you rented the same as the photos you viewed online? Did you have any issues getting your deposit back? Did you receive your deposit when you checked out? Are there any additional 'hidden' charges if you used a credit card to pay the balance (I've been told by all 3 agencies that I can pre-pay by credit card, plus 'bank expense' whatever that is)? Was your agent attentive?

I'm not sure what other questions to ask.....any advice is greatly appreciated.

I have used Sleep in Italy twice. I have been pleased with the service and communications with the agency. Apartments were as stated. With one of the apartments, there was confusion on the dates on my part but Sleep in Italy was able to work things out and was responsive to my many emails as I realized my mistake.

Others on Fodors have used Sleep in Italy with positive results. It looks like one of the apartments available for your dates (I saw your other thread), is the Paradiso apartment. I have stayed there and would definitely stay again. However, I think you have more of a budget available for maybe something fancier, plus I am not sure the twins convert to a full.

I am currently booked for June with Sleep In Italy. My correspondence with them has been fine. The apartment we are renting does not require a deposit which is one of the reasons I chose this unit. So far, so good and I am expecting a nice experience.

Last July, we rented a one bedroom apartment from My Extra Home , located on Piazzetta Margutta. The apartment was lovely, the arrangements fine, the street the apartment building was on quiet, but the adjoining streets bustled with traffic and pedestrians. We seem to have become allergic to people and noise!

This summer, we are renting through Sleep in Italy for the first time, so I have no experience with that company. If noise and people aren't bothersome, then you might want to consider My Extra Home for a look-see.

trvlgirlmq - you found an apartment that doesn't require a deposit? All the listings I looked at require a EUR 200 deposit at a minimum. Interesting.

mama_mia - The agent I've been speaking with from SleepInItaly has been very attentive as well. She offered that I could pay 50% of the total rental through paypal so that I wouldn't need to carry a lot of cash with me. She did say that a cash security deposit would be refunded at check out upon their inspection of the property.

nytraveler - Due diligence is exactly what I'm trying to accomplish by posting my questions in this forum - of course I could ask the agent about problematic issues but I'm sure I won't get a reliable answer. But, you are correct - issues can arise whether I rent an apartment or book a hotel room. Thanks for the feedback.

jubilada - thank you for the feedback. I suppose if there were a horrible experience the traveler would want to post a negative review, I'm just not sure if these rental agency websites remove negative reviews, so I thought I'd ask on this forum for advice.

Yes, many of the properties on Sleepinitaly.com did not have a deposit listed. If you look over where the payment details are once you have put in your dates it will say whether one is due. Rome is the end of our trip and I did not want to be left with hundreds of euros I would not be able to spend.

I think some agencies list apts on Airbnb, don't they? I know they do on VRBO, so presume they do but don't use it myself. Small agencies, I mean. But if so, they sometimes do have managers, but this is, of course, nothing to do with Airbnb providing any service at all, as they don't (on site). It's just like Craigslist etc, a place to list want ads, more or less. Now they do a bit more than that by holding funds in escrow, though.

I had a friend who used sleepinitaly for Florence a few years ago and was very satisfied with the experience, no problems at all.

I was able to narrow down my choices between 2 apartments, one through Airbnb and the other through FlipKey.

Both apartments are similar (2 bed, 2 bath) and in a great location: Campo de'Fiori.

The deciding factor was this:

The host of the apartment through FlipKey started contacting me directly and was really pushy about convincing me to pay her the entire balance in cash upon arrival. When I said I didn't want to do that, she started venting about how she needs to pay for her listing on FlipKey and that the reason FlipKey wanted ME to use their payment service was so that they can make money off me with a service fee. She then directed me to her listing on Homeaway.com that she claimed had more flexible terms. For HER.

HUH? Ummm......no thanks.

By contrast, the Airbnb host was very nice, answered all my questions promptly, and was the literal opposite of PUSHY. And, Airbnb charged my credit card (I'm OK that they already charged my CC) so I don't need to worry about bring a ton of cash with me to pay the balance upon check in (there is still a cash security deposit due, which is returned at check out upon inspection).

And they will hold onto my money until after I've checked in and am satisfied with the rental.

But then, I recalled my trip to Spain - I stayed at a hotel in a very residential area of Cordoba - and while the hotel was fantastic the neighborhood was absolutely dead in the evenings, so I did very much regret staying closer to the area where most of the hotels were located. Yes, the touristy area.

But, I am a tourist! I want to be in the middle of the action, at least for my first trip to Rome. That's part of the excitement for me, being a part of the chaos.

My next trip I might feel differently and decide to stay in a residential area and live like the locals, but this time around I will feel more in the thick of it staying in Campo de'Fiori.

I am also interested in apartments in Rome with sleepinitaly. It also makes me nervous that reviews are NOT current......if there are any.

The company has been responsive to my emails.

With the apartments I am interested in...there is an initial deposit...and the balance of the rental paid on arrival. Why would you expect anything back?

We rent the same apartment in Buenos Aires year after year. The owner is MOST cooperative. We rent for months at a time. This Rome rental will be 5 nights....in the end, it's the owner or manager who responds to any problem.....one can't blame the rental agency. However, IF an owner/manager is a continuous problem.....that rental should be eliminated from the agency site.

The deciding factor for me is that Airbnb charged my CC for the full rental amount in advance - and the security deposit is also a hold on my CC.

So that means I don't need to bring a ton of cash with me upon check in, and, more importantly, I don't need to deal with the host regarding payment or security.

Airbnb already charged my CC (2 months in advance of my arrival), some people prefer to not have that charge so far in advance, but I look at it as something I can pay for early on and not think about when I'm in Rome.